VINELAND – Local officials, veterans and residents marked the 73rd anniversary of Pearl Harbor by honoring one of their own Sunday: former Marine and Pearl Harbor survivor Stephen H. Acocella.

The 92-year-old was saluted for his service to his country during that infamous morning on Dec. 7, 1941, when Japanese planes bombed a U.S. naval base in Hawaii, drawing the country reluctantly into World War II.

The attack on Pearl Harbor resulted in 21 sunk or damaged ships, 188 aircraft destroyed and more than 2,400 American deaths.

But Acocella survived.

“You are a special person,” state Sen. Jeff Van Drew told the sitting veteran. “You represent the best of America, the true mettle of what good Americans are made of. You really are a hero to the community.”

In learning about the war veteran, it’s hard to argue with Van Drew.

Born eighth in a family of 13, Acocella came from a poor family in Montclair, according to Matt J. Jordan, a member of the Marine Corps League’s Semper Marine Detachment 205.

To help earn money for his family, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1940 and was able to send $15 home each month.

Acocella was eventually sent to Pearl Harbor, where his battalion was attacked by the Japanese.

Acocella’s battery of 60 men were stationed in a sugar cane field at Salt Lake Camp near the harbor at Hickman Air Field when the sneak attack occurred.

The surprise attack was all the more devastating because many soldiers, sailors and Marines were unprepared, having no weapons or ammunition with which to defend themselves.

Out of frustration, Acocella and others threw rocks at the low-flying Japanese planes.

The following day, he helped carry away bodies that washed ashore.

“That day was so pivotal,” Cumberland County Freeholder Director Joseph Derella said of Pearl Harbor. “Without the men and women who were there, without their response, we wouldn’t be here today.”

Acocella went on to fight in the Pacific for a total of five years and six months.

He was discharged in 1945 with the rank of sergeant and later moved to Vineland, where he and his wife raised two daughters.

For years, Acocella kept accounts of the war to himself, his daughter Margaret Cornwell said.

“For us growing up, it was still fresh in his mind,” she said. “He would wake up with nightmares — the day is still vivid in his mind.”

But like many veterans who experienced the war and have reached the later years of their lives, Acocella in recent years has begun to open up, sharing his story with others.

“He’s been more open to talking about it lately,” Cornwell said. “I’m very proud of him. This means a lot to him — it’s really beautiful.”

Acocella was presented with numerous proclamations, resolutions, certificates and other gifts Sunday when roughly 50 people crowded into the Vineland Downtown Improvement District Pop-Up Store on Landis Avenue.

The improvement district and the city’s Veterans Welcome Home Committee hosted the event.

But for all the praise and accolades he received, Acocella, like many survivors and veterans, displayed a sense of guilt for having made it through.

“I’m not deserving of this honor,” he said. “The ones that made the ultimate sacrifice deserve this honor.”

Still, those in attendance couldn’t help but offer their sincerest gratitude to a man who, like so many others during times of war, helped defend America.

“We can’t thank you enough,” Vineland City Council Vice President Paul Spinelli said. “People like you are the reason why we’re all here today.”

“You’ve never stopped loving this country,” Cumberland County Clerk Gloria Noto said. “It is because of what you people did that makes this country what it is today.”